Revelations: Reaching
by Liaranne
Summary: A new girl, just a regular human one, comes to Danny's school, bringing with her a past full of sorrow and mystery. In the mean time, a strange ghost is roaming the streets of Amity Park... And what does Vlad have to do with all of this?
1. Prologue: Portal

_Author's Note:_ Welcome to my fic. I feel that some explaination is in order before we begin. First of all, this story is being reposted. It recieved some decent response when I first put it up, but I took a long time in between chapters and many of the later - and better - ones had no reviews. However, I have posted it on a couple of Danny Phantom forums, including the Official Butch Hartman forum, where it recieved some very nice responses from some fellow writers whose fanfiction is awesome. It gives me the warm fuzzies to see their reviews.

Also important to note is that this is the first in a trilogy, and as such it's purpose is mainly to lay backstory. It does introduce several original characters - the best I have ever written - but the traditional DP characters do not get lost, I promise you.

So, welcome to **Reaching**, part one in my **Revelations **trilogy. Contained within are mentions of murderous plots, villainry, an exploration of siblinghood in several different forms, a scene where I just needed to get some characters out of there, and Casper High being partly demolished.

THE RATING OF THIS FIC IS... debatable. I put it under T, just in case, but I feel it's something between a K+ and a T. If your over 11, you should be good to go.

Here's the prologue. Chapter one will be up soon.

**

* * *

Prologue: Portal**

The night is clear and starry as the waxing moon shines upon a tall brick townhouse with an odd array of gadgetry on the roof. A large sign blinks 'Fenton Works' in neon green and pink – or rather, it normally would blink. Due to an incident earlier in the week, it is half burned out, blinking just "Ton Orks". Within the house, the two adults sleep soundly in their double bed, with the occasional mutter of "Ghosts" coming from the man as he clutches his teddy bear.

The next room over holds a sixteen-year old, red headed girl, still awake at this late hour. Light spills over her own teddy bear collection, some of the heads meticulously sewn back on by her brother while under close observation. The clock on her desk flashes the time – 12:16 – as she scribbles in her notebook, her cyan eyes flickering over the words. As she jumps slightly when she hears a slight thump, a car door slamming in the street below, then looks at the clock. Sighing, she puts down her notebook, and pads gently down the hall to another room.

She opens a door and peeks into another room, her brother's, with a feeling that she will see something she will not exactly like. True, she _had_ seen him go to bed, but she knew that with her brother, that was no guarantee that he was even in the house. It is dark in the room, but she can see by the light of his clock – 12:20, it is faster than hers – that he is not in his bed. The covers had not even changed from the rumpled pile he had left them in this morning.

A knowing, concerned, slightly wry look flickers across her concerned face – she knows that nothing will keep her brother in bed, where he should be, if there is something he thinks he needs to do – and she replaces the door, walking back to her room to get some sleep. She worries about her brother, but she also knows that there are things he feels that he has to do, and she has found that she can live with that. Until he smartens up and tells her his secret, at least.

The clock in the boy's room now reads 2:37 as a humanoid shape phases straight through the wall of the second-story room, bluish light radiating from him, lighting the scene. With an exhausted sigh, the slightly injured boy – a shallow scratch and a few bruises – lands on the floor, his white hair and bright green eyes set off by his odd, mostly-black suit with white gloves.

Twin rings, white bordered by an electric blue, pass over the boy's waist and move to his head and toes, and the glow stops. His hair is now a raven's wing, his eyes a bit bluer than his sister's. The black and white suit has been replaced by normal pajamas. He moves his shoulder the wrong way and winces. He flinches again when he sees the time – he had meant to be home well over an hour ago. By the light of the thin, waxing moon coming through his window, he straightens out his covers and tries to go to sleep.

Down the stairs, past the kitchen, down another flight of stairs, lies the basement. Worktables and odd mechanisms litter the room. An alien gateway is on one wall, its own timepiece reading 2:39:32, counting out the seconds. Suddenly, the portal opens to reveal a swirling green vortex. Something emerges.

A girl stands there, young. Her hair forms an eerie, sunset-colored halo around her head, flowing behind her face. She is dressed like a dancer in a leotard under her singed T-shirt and tattered sweatpants, along with dancing shoes, all glowing green. Her face registers confusion, and then something else.

Fear.

As the metal portal clangs shut, the girl looks around the laboratory, then stops, head cocked as if listening, nostrils flared as if to scent the air. "She's here too. He's after her?" her confused whisper was so soft that even if anyone else was in the room, they would not have heard it. It was a thought aloud to an uncaring universe.

As the girl flutters up from the dank basement and into the night, a single word lingers on the morbid air of the laboratory.

"Protect…"

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_Ending Author's note:_ Yes, I know it's annoying. But my muse, Lia, is insisting that I mention that while any and all reviews are welcome, PLEASE use proper grammar and spelling. Otherwise, she tends to have to run off sneazing. She's allergic to that sort of thing. 

Thank you!


	2. Chapter 1: Meeting

**_Author's Note: _**_Well, no reviews, no response... Okay, we need to get some things out of the way:_

_This fic was written in its entirity prior to the airing of Public Enemies The character design change seen in Memory Blank thus does not apply. Inviso-bill also does not apply, though it may be edited into the final, super-refined version. This version will be edited as soon as I finish the third installment of this seires - which is a long way away as I'm writing chapter 19 of 23 in the second installment._

_Recommended reading: Anything and everything by Tamora Pierce, K.A. Applegate's Animorphs series, Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels, and Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Start now, and you might get some of the references that'll pop up in the second fic. Tamora Pierce, especially._

_Recommend fanfics: anything by Obi-Quiet, Neko-Salosa, White Gryphon, wafiche, and numerous people who are not on ffn for various reasons that I'm beginning to understand. Oh, and do yourself a favor and check out My Grandfather's Ghost by Alex Schizra (not sure about spelling on the last part of his name). GREAT fic, that one. Some other's, too - actually, just check out my favorites thing._

_THIS IS IMPORTANT: This fic is part one of a trilogy. Er... Well, it's three main stories with possibly a couple of one-shots to tie everything together. As such, there is alot in here that may not be important to what serves as the lame plot of this story, but is important later on. Also as such, this fic serves as a diving board, of sorts - this my initial bounce before diving into the real story that comes out so much more later on - and this fic is the worst of the trilogy. Hands down._

_ If you're still hanging on after all of that... well, hats off to you. Here's the story. Please, review.  
_**

* * *

Chapter One: Meeting**

Danny Fenton, the half-ghost, half-human curiosity, appeared to be your average sleep-deprived freshman as he slumped over the cafeteria table.

"Could this day get any worse?" he asked to his two best friends, Sam, a loaded, idealistic, vegetarian Goth who you never call Samantha, and Tucker, a regular suburban tech-freak. Tucker sat beside him while Sam took a seat on the other side of the table.

"Well, look on the bright side, Dash hasn't stuck you into a locker yet today," said Sam, munching her organic carrot sticks.

"Yeah, and there probably won't be anymore ghosts this week, either. Really, Danny, this day hasn't been all _that_ bad," added Tucker, digging into his steak.

Danny just groaned, "Well, let's see, my parents got out the ghost detector out at breakfast again, I got none of my homework done, _including_ the stupid five page essay for English, which I have next, _and_ the fifty problems for algebra, and I'm tired, and I probably won't get any sleep again tonight, just like last night."

He finished his rant and stared around the cafeteria. Dash was out of school today, thankfully, at some jockish field trip or something. Paulina was surrounded by her fan club of boys, and oh, there was his sister psycho-analyzing a strange girl – was she new or something? – about something or another while they stood there holding their lunch trays.

He pulled out his algebra book and half-heatedly began doing his missed assignment (he had exaggerated – it was twelve problems, not fifty) while Sam and Tucker began arguing about meat vs. vegetables.

Then he heard a very familiar voice yell for him.

"Yoo-hoo, Danny, look up"

He jerked up, to look into his older sister's eyes. What was she doing? Jazz _never_ talked to him during school.

Then he noticed the same girl he'd seen earlier standing beside her.

"What's up, Jazz?" He asked tiredly.

"Lanna here is new, she needs someone to sit with, and she's a freshman. I tried or pointed out every other table and either she said, no way, or they, uh… didn't really have room," she said, tactfully. "Here, sit next to Sam," Jazz said to the girl, Lanna.

Dressed in a dark red shirt with puffy sleeves and black pants, she set her tray down, and slung her book bag onto the empty seat beside her.

"Hi, I'm Lanna," she said. She had a pony-tail's worth of voluminous red hair and deep blue eyes set within her teardrop face. Lanna looked at them for a response as Jazz left, her expression difficult to discern beyond the intelligent glint of her eyes and the appraising look she gave everything around.

"Hi, I'm Sam." Sam held out her hand and Lanna shook it. "The _carnivore_ over there is Tucker, and Mister Rushing-to-do-his-Algebra-for-next-period is Danny."

Lanna smiled and waved hello.

Staring across the table at Danny's homework for a minute, she said, "The answer to number eight is sixteen. And you should use the Pythagorean Theorem for number ten."

"Thanks," said Danny, hastily scribbling.

"No problem. Trust me, this isn't the first time I've seen work left to the last minute," she replied. Her face flickered and then slipped back into her former expression.

"Uh, yeah, what's the Pythagorean Theorem again?"

Lanna gave him an ironic grin, and told him.

They spent the rest of lunch divided between getting to know Lanna – learning that she had two cats, for one, and letting Lanna get to know a bit about them. She was in most of the trio's classes, the only exceptions being electives. She also described herself as "a bit geekish".

Tucker thought that she certainly didn't look like your stereotypical, or even typical, geek – okay, so she didn't wear brand-name clothes, and didn't have that popular air, but really, a geek seemed to go a bit far.

They continued chatting about random subjects, the ghost-busting trio careful to avoid any mention of ghosts, when she asked what they'd be doing after school.

"Well, probably hanging at the mall or going to Danny's place," Tucker said. "Or Nasty Burger, but it's usually mobbed on Wednesdays."

"Why don't you come with us?" asked Sam, "That way you might be able to help Danny with _tonight's_ algebra."

"Hey! It's not my fault I couldn't get it done!"

Lanna smiled at the exchange. "I've heard similar excuses. I'll have to check with my brother about coming with you guys, but he probably won't mind," she said. "He thinks I should have more friends," she added, softly, with a sad little grin. She glanced down at the table, then back up at the trio.

"Your brother? What about your parents?" asked Tucker.

She looked down at the table again and shifted uncomfortably, rubbing her left arm and nibbling on her lip. "Oh, well… They're dead." If the statement had been any softer in the noisome cafeteria, they would not have heard it. Sam thought that the girl had wanted to whisper it.

"Oh…"

Then the bell rang, and the foursome went to find their classes.

* * *

_End of the chapter. See the blue button in the corner, there? Click it, comment, say whatever. Just remember that my muse has allergies to gratituous errors in spelling and grammar, please._

_(rereads chapter) (wince) I actually have Jazz saying "Yoo-hoo"? Ok... note to self, that's gonna change... _


	3. Chapter 2: Brother

_**Author's note:** (sighs) Is there really any point? Because if no one is reading this, there's no point in putting it up._

**Chapter Two: Brother**

They met up in front of the building after school. Lanna's last class had been right by the doors, so she had waited by a tree and watched for the other three.

"Hey, guys! I called my brother from my cell phone, why don't you come over to my house, instead? My brother wants to meet you all."

They agreed, and Danny told Jazz where he was going. None of their parents would miss the trio right away, but Jazz would.

Lanna led the way, walking down the street, and answered some more of their questions – some before they even asked them. She was visibly nervous, and seemed to be babbling.

"My brother and I moved here just the other day from New Jersey. He's so worried about me, it's sweet but annoying. He's twenty-six, and I have no other real relatives. Actually, there's a cousin or two somewhere or something. I forget… Where was he? Somewhere in the Midwest or something… I wasn't really paying attention when Matt mentioned it." Lanna looked upwards at the clouds thoughtfully, with a slight twist of her lips and cock of the head.

"That's cool," Sam said, "What brought you here?"

"Oh." Lanna snapped out of her 'thinking' daze, "Well, my brother just graduated from college last year, and is an engineer with a couple of … odd hobbies. He found a job opening here a couple weeks ago and jumped at the chance."

"That's cool, but why Amity? I mean what happens here that he'd jump to come _here_?" asked Tucker.

Sam rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh, well…" Lanna shifted uncomfortably (again), "For some reason he's become obsessed with ghosts and this was recently dubbed the 'ghost capital of the world' for some odd reason."

Sam and Danny exchanged glances; they could guess what the "reason" was.

"That's cool. Did Jazz tell you that Danny's parents are ghost hunters?" Tucker blurted out the question and received a jab of the elbow from Sam out of Lanna's sight line.

"No, she didn't. Wait, what's your last name again, Danny?"

"Fenton," said Danny, a bit morosely.

"Hey! My brother has heard of your parents. I think. He did mention something about them, at least. At some point or another," she replied, and then stared into space like she was trying to remember something again.

Lanna looked around suddenly. "Uh, guys? Where are we?"

"We were going to your house, weren't we?" asked Tucker.

"Yeah, but then I got caught up in walking, and I lost track of where I was going. I'm not used to the route yet," Lanna mumbled, visibly embarrassed.

She looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. "Actually," she added, "I'm not used to walking home at all. I lived in suburbia before and always took the bus."

The trio stared at her, dumbfounded.

"Well, what's your address? I'm sure we can find it," said Sam, capable and confidant as always.

Lanna's house was two doors down from Danny's place.

"Oh," said Tuck when she gave them the address and they realized where it was, "So you guys are the ones who bought the old Miller place. I was wondering about that."

"Yeah. The former owner told us that the people with the weird stuff on their house a couple doors down are crazy but harmless. My brother had been a little bit freaked out by that."

Danny blushed. "That's my house," he mumbled.

"Your house? Cool!" Lanna's reaction was completely different from what Danny had expected. "I bet _you_ never get lost! All you have to do is look up and find the place! How did your parents _get_ all that stuff?"

"Danny's parents invent ghost-catching equipment," said Tucker.

"Or they _try_ to, at least," added Danny, "They can't get any of the stuff they make to work, and if some of it does, they haven't found anything to test it on." The last statement was said tongue-in-cheek, as while Danny, Tucker, and Sam had used it often, Danny's parents actually had not used it effectively on a regular basis.

"It's still cool," Lanna argued, opening the door.

At that, they stepped inside her house…

…Only to find that they could not get beyond two feet of the door, as the floor was covered in boxes.

Lanna looked extremely annoyed, as she had not expected to come home to this.

"Brother! Matt! Matthew!" she shouted. When no response came, she stepped forward from the group and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"MATTHEW RYAN TURNER SPATZ**A**! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE AND HELP ME THROUGH THE DOOR **NOW!**" Danny and Tucker flinched back from her shout, while Sam simply looked impressed.

"Nice volume there. How do you do that?" she asked Lanna.

"Practice and a special pitch of the voice. I picked it up from… a relative. I'll teach you sometime."

That's when the footsteps came thumping up from the basement.

"Oww, Lanna. When are you ever going to tone down that voice of yours?" an annoyed baritone voice wafted through the house.

"When you quit annoying me, bro," replied Lanna glibly. "This place is worse than when I left for school! Did you get _anything_ productive done all day, or did you get distracted by some project or something?" she asked.

"No, Lanna," the man said, walking into the room. He was obviously a close relation to the girl, with the same hair and eyes, though the nose and lips were a bit different, thin where Lanna's were more curvilinear. He continued, "I didn't _forget_ anything. These are the empty boxes and I was moving them to the basement."

"Good boy."

They all ended up eating cookies around the kitchen table (It only had four chairs, though, so Lanna sat on the counter) and talking about their families and friends.

"So, you're Sam, Tucker, and Danny, right?" Matt, Lanna's brother, asked. He was trying to get the names straight.

"Yep, that's us," replied Tucker.

"You all go to Casper High with Lanna then? That's good."

"Yeah," said Sam, "It's cool that we're together, but the school still won't listen to me about going vegetarian again."

"Uh, Sam? Don't you remember what happened when you got the school board to change the lunch menu? It wasn't exactly pretty." Danny's comment rang through the room.

"Well, it's not _my_ fault you had to start a food fight," Sam said, steering the topic as far away from ghosts as she could.

"Garbage fight," Tucker accused, not noticing what Sam was doing.

"Ok, guys? I don't think I want to know," said Lanna, sensing a feud and not wanting her friends to get into it in front of her brother.

The argument dissolved.

"So, Matt," said Lanna, "You mentioned the Fentons the other day?"

"I told you, I'll try to see them –" he started to reply, but Lanna cut him off.

"I forgot when." Matt sighed at this, and began to talk, but was again cut off, "Jazz, Danny's sister, introduced us at lunch, and guess what?" she was cheerful; "They're Fentons! And they're the ones a couple doors down with all the cool junk on the roof!"

Matt went pale and shifted uncomfortably (a family trait).

After a few moments of awkward silence, Lanna cleared her throat.

"Matt? What's wrong?" She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

He just stared blankly into space. "Well, that changes things. It's certainly a surprise," he said softly, still into space.

"Woo hoo? Matt? Mattie? What's wrong?" she stood up and waved her hand in front of her brother's face.

He sighed, giving a slight glare to a concerned Lanna, and then looked back at Danny. "You're Maddie Schafer's son, aren't you?"

"Umm, yeah. How do you know my mom?" Danny asked. Schafer was Maddie's maiden name.

"And," Lanna said, "Why are you looking so weird? Matt, _you_ aren't the one who spaces out constantly!"

"Ok, ok, relax, I was just hoping to put this off," said Matt, running his hand through his strawberry-blond hair. His blue-green eyes stared at the ceiling a moment, then turned to Danny. "Look, will your mom be home tonight?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Danny.

"Well, can you tell her Maggie Turner's son would like to talk to her? Please? Here," he got out a pen and a scrap of paper and scribbled something down, "This is our phone number, she can call any time she wants to."

"Matt, what is going on?" demanded Lanna.

"I'll tell you later, Lanna. Please, Danny?"

"Uh, sure," was the reply. Danny took the phone number from his hand.

"Thank you," Matt's relief was evident in his words. "Just ask her to talk to me, please."

After another uncomfortable few minutes, Matt shooed them out, saying that he and Lanna needed to unpack some more, and the trio left for Danny's house.

"Well, Lanna seemed nice," said Tucker, with hearts in his eyes.

"I don't know, there was something funny about her," said Danny.

"Well, I liked her. She's cool with me," replied Sam. Noting Tucker's expression, she added, wryly, "Better than Valerie, at least, Tuck. Lanna probably won't be trying to kill Danny."

Tucker's star-struck gaze turned into a glare as he told Sam to shut up.

They proceeded to talk about their plans for the rest of the week, while delicately dancing around the subject of Matt's odd outbursts. No ghosts had come up recently, so it was mostly hanging at the mall and catching up on homework.

"Oh, yeah, Jazz is going to drag the whole family to the Senior Showdown on Friday – she's making some speech during half-time," said Danny.

"Well, I guess we can go. We'll have to see if Lanna wants too. Does she like to watch sports?" said Tucker.

"It didn't come up yet, Tucker," Sam reminded him, "I have English with her tomorrow, I'll ask her then."

"I'm still not sure about her, guys," said Danny, a slight mist coming out of his mouth, "Man, I hope this cold spell snaps soon," he said after a quick glance around, "I keep thinking it's my ghost sense, and it doesn't help that the school has the stupid air conditioner on." Despite it being late spring, a frost had hit the night before, and janitorial staffs everywhere tend to look at the calendar rather than the weather report to decide issues of heating and air conditioning.

"Why aren't you sure of her? I mean, it's not like there were ghosts around her or anything, right?" Tucker replied, suddenly overly defensive about Lanna.

"Well, yeah. But, I don't know, I still got this odd feeling."

"Maybe it was grief or something?" asked Sam, "She _did_ mention that her parents died."

"Yeah, forgot about that. I guess so…" Danny's voice faded as they walked around the corner to Danny's door.

None of them noticed a small hand curved around the brick building behind them, and a vaguely familiar face peered around the corner at the trio, wide eyes glowing green even in the sunlight.

With a worried, confused expression on her face, the ghost floated away into the afternoon sky.


	4. Chapter 3: Discovery

_**Author's Note : **Thank you to I break for ghost and Dragonbringer. _

_Dragonbringer: Looks like you do like the same stuff I do! Except for National Treasure... I couldn't get into that movie. Actually, are you on Sheroes, by any chance?  
_

_Anyway, more recommendations that I forgot: _

_Books: The Young Wizard's series by Diane Duane, American Gods by Neil Gaiman (Just finished, AWESOME. Starting on Neverwhere, if I can find it...) and I think that's actually it for what may or may not pop up, reference wise, in this fic. and for music, the Barenakes Ladies rock my socks off._

_I also realized I forgot a disclaimer. I do this, and I am sorry. I do not own Danny Phantom or any other related characters or realms. They belong to Butch Hartman. I doubt I'll get sued, considering that this is up on his official forum, but hey, it's here. I do own the name "Alanna"and any features associated thereforth. Nope, I totally did NOT rip off Tammy Pierce's character... not at all... Okay, so I don't own the name or the red hair thing, but Lanna is different from Tammy's. I didn't steal everything. And I own Matt, too. And their family. And the other OCs that will pop up about the middle of _Kidnapped... _the second fic in this piece of insanity called _Revelations._ Yeah... You want the story already._**  
**

**Chapter Three: Discovery**

"Mom?" Danny stepped through his front door. "Mom!" he shouted.

A goggled, masked head poked up from the basement stairs. "What is it, Danny dear?" asked Maddie Fenton. "I was just working on my new invention, the Fenton Spirit Cleaner!" she held up a device that looked a bit like a mop. "Cleans all the evil ghosts out of your soul," she added.

Danny stepped to the other side of the table, away from the Cleaner. "There was a new girl at school today, named Lanna. Sam, Tucker, and I went to her house after school to hang out, and met her brother, Matt."

"Yes?"

After a brief hesitation, he continued. After all, he _had_ promised. "Well, when he heard your name he started acting all weird. He wrote down his number and said to tell you that Maggie Turner's son would like you to call." Danny handed the note to his mother.

Maddie's reaction was eerily like Matt's as she turned pale, looking at the note in her hands.

"Danny … Go and work on your homework or something."

Danny didn't know what else to do, so he went to his room. As he glanced back, he could see his mother slumped at the table as she pulled off her mask and goggles, staring blankly at the note in front of her. He fled up the stairs.

* * *

After actually doing some homework, half of an essay for English and a science worksheet, Danny went back downstairs to see what was for dinner.

He vaguely remembered that his dad was picking Jazz up from some function or another (her car was getting some maintenance done) and would be home soon as he walked down the stairs.

He was greeted with the sight of Matt sitting with his mother (minus the blue hazmat suit) across the kitchen table, talking softly.

"Mom?" said Danny.

Maddie whirled around. "Oh, it's you." There were tear streaks down her face. There was a box of tissues by her, and several used ones on the table. She'd been crying? But why?

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Sit down, Danny. You've met Matthew already. Your father and Jazz should be home any minute now, I'll tell you then."

As he took a seat, saying hi to Matt, the front door opened.

"Dad, honestly, you have to stop going on about this ghost stuff in public! What will my friends think?" demanded Jazz from the front hall.

"Well, honey, I just like talking about ghosts!" replied Jack.

They walked into the room.

"Mom? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" demanded Jazz.

"Maddie? Are you ok? Danny, what's going on? And who are you?" asked Jack, going over to his wife, the last question directed at Matt with a glare.

"I don't know. I just got down here. That's Matt. He just moved here with his sister, Lanna, who's in my grade, and I met him this afternoon. I don't know why he's here, though," Danny replied.

Matt shifted uncomfortably.

"Jake, Jasmine, sit down, please," said Maddie, voice soft but surprisingly firm considering she was crying. "Matt, you can go; really I'm sorry for keeping you this long. Thank you for telling me in person."

"I had to, Mrs. Fenton." With that, Matt nodded to each of them and left the room.

As everyone tried to speak at once, Maddie waved off the confused cries and wiped her hands across her teary face then through her hair.

"Maddie? What's wrong?" asked Jack.

"Jack, remember Maggie? That was her son."

"Maggie? Your best friend? The one who married Ed Spatza?"

"Yes. Jack, she and her husband died last year. It was a car accident."

She started crying again.

"Maggie's dead? Ed too?" Jack was in shock.

"Mom? Mom, are you ok?" asked Jazz.

Maddie waved off Jazz and looked at her children. "Sit down, Jazz, Danny. You too, Jack. Quit hovering. I'm not glass." It was the firmest Danny had ever heard his mother speak. "Now, listen you two, you deserve an explanation. Maggie Turner was my first cousin on my mother's side. I didn't have very many young relatives, and neither did she, so despite being half a decade older than me, we were always together. We lived right down the street from each other, actually." Maddie paused, and blew into her tissue.

Wiping her eyes, she continued. "Well, we had a falling out almost twenty years ago, right before your father and I married. She'd married Edward Spatza by that time and even had little Matt – though I guess I can't really call him little anymore. Remember your father's friend Vlad Masters? Ed is – was – his cousin, come to think of it. Well, she thought Vlad was not very nice and infatuated with me and wanted me to distance myself from him. Ed agreed with her – he'd never liked Vlad, I don't know why. Vlad was just nice, and well, Maggie was just plain wrong. We were young… I never could believe her..."

She shook her head.

"I'm babbling now." She sniffed. "Maggie used to do that too. When Matthew came over I could not believe how big he'd grown." She sniffed again, took a deep breath, and continued stoically.

"Matt's parents, two siblings, and grandmother died in a serious accident last year. They were driving home and their car went off the edge of the road and exploded. Ed was a good driver, so no one understood what happened, but the police didn't find any evidence of foul play."

There was silence.

"Edward is dead? Maggie too?" Jack said.

Maddie nodded.

"Lanna and Matt are relatives?" asked Danny.

Maggie nodded again. "Matthew and Alanna are first cousins once removed for me, second cousins for you. They're coming to dinner tomorrow."

Jazz, who had been furiously recording every observation, put down her notebook.

Danny's stomach rumbled, "Um, speaking of dinner…"

Eventually, the Fentons ate, and had a good long talk in the process.

* * *

_**Another Note:** Oh, yeah, I own the Fenton Spirit Cleaner, too. I like that thing. :P Oh, wow, I didn't remember all thing stuff happening so fast... Hmmm. Oh, and sorry it took me so long to update - I was on vacation last week._


	5. Chapter 4: Bully

_AN: My apologies to anyone reading this for being slow in updating. Reviews would help. Thanks to Mythic Storm (formerly Dragonbringer) for her review._

_I must tell you; if you get through this fic at a mere 12 chapters + prologue, you'll love _**Kidnapped**_. I have to finish writing it, though... worried look over at fic And after that is _**Absolution**_, which is gonna be a doosie... to write and read. So, please, hang in there. And I'll try to hang in, too._

_PLEASE REVIEW._

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* * *

****Chapter Four: Bully **

Danny walked into school the next morning to find the usual face of Dash Baxter ready to shove him into his locker. Danny quickly found himself being shoved around a circle of jocks, ready for Dash's word to give him up.

"Excuse me," said a voice from outside the circle. The group turned around, as Dash grabbed Danny's collar and held him off the ground by it.

Lanna stood there, looking annoyed. Danny looked on and had the sudden urge to crawl somewhere and hide. He shifted uncomfortably under Lanna's searing gaze. It was bad enough that Dash had to beat him up, but did Lanna really have to see it?

"Can we help you, babe?" asked Dash, trying to pull on some moves on the new girl by slicking down his hair with his free hand.

"Actually, yes. You can start," she said sharply, "by moving from in front of my locker, and you can continue by putting him down," she nodded at Danny.

Dash's voice grew slightly menacing, "Oh, look, we have a goody-too-shoes on our hands here. Well, since you _are _new," he said, as if conferring a great favor, "I'll let you off today, but next time you won't meddle without … without… uh,"

"Repercussions?" suggested Lanna in a helpful tone. "Oh, and 'meddle' is _so_ Scooby Doo. Please, I think you mean 'interfere'. And I'll interfere all I want when I see something I don't like. And I _don't_ like bullies."

She shoved through the line of boys and nonchalantly began to put in her locker combination. Dash was obviously flabbergasted.

"Hey! You can't talk to me that way! Don't you know who I am?" he demanded

"Actually," she said, jerking her locker open, "I don't. Now, if you excuse me, I have to find my homeroom."

"Listen, babe, if you think - "

"I think a lot, something I doubt you do on a daily basis."

Dumbfounded by the girl's banter, Dash handed Danny to an accomplice and grabbed her wrist from behind. "Listen, _babe_, if you weren't a girl, you'd be dog food right now. _I_ can do a lot more than just talk."

She stomped on the instep while jabbing a thumbnail into the wrist of his offending arm, forcing him to yelp and let go.

"Really? It doesn't look like it," Lanna shook away from the group and headed down the hall. "And I really wouldn't attack me if I were you. _Ever._ You won't like the results," her eyes flared dangerously, though the rest of her face was unreadable.

Dash turned his anger onto his original victim and held Danny against the wall.

"One word of this gets out, Fenton, and you're dog food." He shoved Danny into Lanna's still open – and thankfully empty, as Lanna had mostly been testing her combination – locker.

After a few minutes, when he figured it would be safe to phase out, Danny heard the lock clicking and decided to stay where he was.

He tumbled out of the locker as Lanna opened the door. "Uh, thanks," he said, dusting himself off from the floor.

"Somehow, I figured you'd be in there. I just walked around the corner and waited for them to leave. Now, pay me back by showing me where my homeroom is," Lanna's words were short and sweet.

"Ok, but …" Danny trailed off. "Why are you shaking? I mean, you really told Dash off! He probably won't try that again."

Lanna pursed her lips together and regarded her trembling hands with visible disgust that they had betrayed her. "I was scared," she said simply, her voice shaking. "I _really_ don't like bullies, and lets hope this Dash isn't as bad as some I've seen, or else I haven't seen the last of him."

"But why not? I mean, you totally rocked against him!" Danny was confused.

"I wasn't in control of the situation, no matter how it might seem to you. And I shake because I gave away some of my best moves for deterring unwanted attention without getting in trouble. And I'm _way_ out of practice. If he tries something like that again, I might have to tell. And I hate telling, it feels like… like _cheating_," replied Lanna, bitter at herself. "Now hurry up and show me to class, please. I don't have all day."

* * *

"Wow, I can't believe its Thursday already!" said Tucker, "I mean, the week just flew by." 

Lanna took a bite of her Salisbury steak, the school's lunch, and made a face. "I can't believe I forgot my lunch at home," she complained, having packed yesterday, "I mean, this food is even worse than my old school's!"

"That's not hard to believe," replied Sam, eating her vegetarian lunch.

"Yes, it is," replied Lanna, earning three sympathetic glances.

The conversation eventually shifted.

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask, Lanna, do you like sports?" asked Tucker.

"Why?"

"Because the Senior Showdown is tomorrow night, and we're all going and I was wondering if you'd like to." The words flew out of his mouth in a rush.

"What is it?" she asked, curious.

"It's just a stupid sporting event," said Sam.

Danny sighed, looking up from his chemistry homework, "It's where the Seniors get to prove they're better than the underclassmen in every way, shape, and form. Athletically, at least. Jazz is giving a speech, or else I wouldn't go."

"Sounds fun. I'm in. Maybe Matt will come. Family event, huh, Danny?" she asked. Danny looked uncomfortable.

"Yeah, something like that…" he had to tell Tucker and Sam about this cousin thing, tonight. And talk to Lanna.

Lanna took another bite of her lunch and wincing, spat out a rusty bolt. "EEWW!" she shouted, attracting the attention of just about everyone else in the cafeteria, half of which already had been sneaking glances at her, the rumor mill having run its course about the new girl. "There's rusty _metal_ in my lunch! I'm not eating this, it's too gross!"

Several people at other tables looked down at their own lunches, faces turning slightly green. Dash even ran from the room, shortly followed by barfing noises coming from the hall. Lanna smirked slightly.

"Ok, now _that_ was worth eating metal."

Tucker's face was gleefully admiring as he said, "You made Dash Baxter barf!" like Lanna was some grand hero from a fairy tale.

"Serves him right. I _hate_ bullies," was her reply. She finished her milk and threw the rest of her lunch away.

The bell rang, and the foursome walked out of the cafeteria to their classes. No one noticed the fading green hand print on the glass, nor the face that looked longingly in through the upper windows. As he walked out, the last person in the queue at the doors, Danny saw a light blue mist come from his mouth. Turning around, he could see nothing there. He hoped that it would stay that way for a little while, at least.

* * *

Tucker flew down the steps outside school to find Lanna waiting under the tree again. He swooped over to her. 

"I can't believe you!" his tone was admiring, "That was amazing!" Hearts were in his eyes.

"What was?" asked Lanna.

"I just heard about the Dash incident this morning! That was _awesome_!"

"Oh, that. Ha, that was _not _brave, it was stupid."

"Stupid? Why?"

She sighed. "Tucker, look. From what I've gathered, I now have the biggest bully in school after me. I hurt him and his pride. I'll be the target now. And I showed off. I pro – I don't like doing that."

"But it was awesome!"

"In the short term, yes, it was. But now I'm a target again," she reiterated.

Her face slipped. Her previous expression had been one of slight self-anger, a slip past her prior carefully blank one. Now, it was truly sad, almost … grieving… as she looked up in the sky.

"Lanna? What's wrong?" asked Tucker, concerned.

She flinched and shook her head as her mask easily glided back into face. Her features contorted into a smile, a modicum of relief slipping through as she looked past Tucker. "Hey! Sam! Over here!" She waved at Danny and Sam, coming out of the school.

Tucker only had time for a surprised, flabbergasted look as Danny and Sam walked over to them. He promptly forgot about the incident.

"Hey, guys! What's up?" asked Sam. Danny and Lanna traded uncomfortable looks at each other.

Tucker replied, "I was just talking to Lanna. Did you here how she told off Dash before first period? Man, I wish I had been there."

"I wish I hadn't," said Danny succinctly, looking at his feet while he shifted them back and forth. "Dash had been beating me up."

Sam looked at him with pity. "Did he stuff you in a locker again?"

"Yeah, but Lanna let me out a minute later. It was her locker."

"Can we talk about something _else_ please?" asked Lanna, uncomfortable with the situation. "I have to be home in less than an hour because Matt wants me to finish unpacking my room before we go to dinner."

"Aww, that sucks," said Tucker. "I was hoping to show you around the mall. Well, the three of us can still go, right Danny? And maybe we all can go tomorrow."

"Sorry Tuck, I can't make it. I have to be home soon, too," replied Danny. "Dinner is a family requirement tonight."

"That's an odd coincidence that you both have to go to dinner," said Sam.

"Yeah, it is a bit weird," said Tuck.

Lanna sighed. "I almost wish it _was_ a coincidence. I'm nervous," she whispered to the air. Her face now held worry as she bit her lip.

Sam and Tuck looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"What are you saying?" Asked Sam and Tucker, respectively.

Lanna's expression changed again, her eyes widened in shock, "Did I just say that out loud?"

Sam and Tucker nodded.

It was Danny's turn to sigh as he said, "Remember how Lanna's brother acted all weird yesterday, guys? Well, my mom told me last night…"

"We're related," Lanna blurted, relief once again showing. "Second cousins, as it turns out. Matt told me last night."

"So now my mom invited them over to dinner."

"Oh," was Sam's slightly flabbergasted reply. "Well, that's a surprise."

Tucker's response was slightly less predictable. Instead of putting his foot in his mouth, he did something else. He fainted.

Sam looked at her idiot friend. "I'll take care of him, you two. Go on home and get ready for dinner, and call us later. Maybe we can go to the mall after you're done."

Above the trees and buildings, behind Lanna's and Danny's backs, floated a ghost, her eyes glowing green as she watched the teens. As the two figures of Danny Fenton and Lanna Spatza walked away, she followed, looking over the two from above.

* * *

Far, far away, a man named Vlad Masters, known to some as Vlad Plasmius, looked into the computer screen at the video. His young cousin – first cousin, once removed, to be exact – was walking down the street with his sworn enemy. 

Where did it go wrong? All of the plans, the schemes, could not get him what he most desired. Two simple, simple things. He'd thought he had gotten rid of Cousin Ed and his _precious_ wife and family – the only ones close to him to ever suspect he had nothing but good intentions – and he found that two of Ed's children still lived. This meant two things: one, he did not get Ed's money, which was a sizable amount both from both inheritance and savings, and two, there were two miserable brats left to go through their parents belongings. Oh, yes, they were related to his Maddie, but so was that Danny Phantom! And now they were all happy go lucky, going to dinner and being _friends_.

It was enough to make him _sick_!

He had had to rearrange his priorities. That night almost a year ago Edward's whole family was supposed to be going down that dark and lonely road with the steep drop on one edge. Making the gas tank explode with a well-placed ectoplasmic blast was just an extra, _personal_ touch.

But one had not even been there and another had escaped nearly unscathed. _And they were becoming _happy _again! _And now… Now two were back on his list of people to … remove … Right next to Danny Phantom and Jack Fenton.

A horrendous idea lit in his blood red eyes. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way to kill _four_ birds with one ectoplasmic blast…


End file.
